GREEN BUILDING AWARD – Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer joined Steven Winter, former Chairman of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), and Larry Bijou of Bijou Properties last week to celebrate the recognition of Edge Lofts, Bijou’s new residential building at 1405 Clinton St. The project was awarded LEED Platinum Certification by the United States Green Building Council.

The offices of the Hudson Reporter will be open on Monday, Dec. 30. They will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 in observance of New Year's Day. The office will reopen Thursday, Jan. 2.

Thus, the advertising and editorial deadlines for the Hudson Reporter newspapers will change. The deadline for classified and display advertising for the Sunday, Jan. 5 editions is Monday, Dec. 30 at noon.

Instead of the regular North Bergen Reporter, Secaucus Reporter, Weehawken Reporter, Union City Reporter, West New York Reporter, Hoboken Reporter, and Jersey City Reporter for Jan. 5, the Hudson Reporter will be publishing its annual countywide “Year in Review” that Sunday. That special edition will not contain letters to the editor. Letters resume the following week.

Look for us at hudsonreporter.com. Got questions? Email editorial@hudsonreporter.com and put your town in the subject head.

A cash settlement between the city of Hoboken and its former public safety director was rejected by the city council on Monday night, paving the way for litigation on punitive damages that will be heard in court starting on Jan. 2.

Angel Alicea, the former director who filed separate discrimination lawsuits against the city and Mayor Dawn Zimmer following his resignation in April 2011, had withdrawn his damages claim after he was awarded $440,000 in back pay and agreed to settle with the city.

But after the council voted to reject the settlement by a 5-2 vote, the damages claim will go to court. The amount of the settlement has remained secret thus far.

Two weeks ago, a jury sided with Alicea in his suit against the city, but found Zimmer personally innocent of any wrongdoing. Alicea had sued the city because he said he was racially abused as a Hispanic male, while Zimmer has stated she asked for his resignation because he lied about meeting with Solomon Dwek, a federal informant at the center of the Bid Rig sting investigation.

Louis Zayas, Alicea’s lawyer in the case, told NJ.com that he found it odd for the council to reject the settlement, as council approval is “almost a formality.”

"I was surprised," he told NJ.com. "For them to come back and say they're not going to accept it, it's unusual, but that's the choice that the city of Hoboken has made, and they're going to have to live with consequences."

Council President Peter Cunningham did not return a call for comment on the vote.

Four men from Newark and Irvington arrested in connection with mall murder

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced last Saturday morning that four people had been arrested in connection with the carjacking and death of Hoboken resident Dustin Friedland a week ago Sunday.

Two men reportedly shot Friedland to death in the Short Hills Mall parking lot, where he and his wife Jamie Schare Friedland had just returned after shopping. The men reportedly ordered Jamie Friedland out of the car and stole the car, which they later abandoned in Newark.

The Friedlands own a condo on Park Avenue in Hoboken.

A funeral was held for Friedland, 30, an attorney, a week ago Wednesday.

The prosecutors held a press conference on Saturday morning to discuss the arrests.

From late Friday through the wee hours of Saturday morning, the police arrested four men, two of whom were allegedly involved in transporting the other criminals to and from the scene of the murder. All four were charged with murder, conspiracy, and several other counts.

Those charged were three Newark men – ages 31, 32, and 33 – and a 31-year-old man from Irvington. Three of them were arrested at homes in New Jersey, while one was collared by the FBI at a hotel in Easton, Pa.

The suspects were captured due to “good old fashioned police work” and tips from the public, said Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray.

She said that the crime occurred because the suspects were looking for a pricy Range Rover to steal.

Jamie Schare Friedland issued a statement saying, "We are very grateful to the Essex County Police and all of the local authorities for pursuing this so vigorously."

The Associated Press reported, "There were 416 carjackings last year in Essex County, a 44 percent increase from 2010. Nearly 300 carjackings were reported through July 31 of this year."